Ravana is known as the ‘Demon King’, ‘the Hindu Evil God’, ‘Dasamukha’, ‘the Great King of Lanka’ and ‘the Perpetual Enemy of the Gods’. An angel at one point of time, later on he was awarded with a choice of redundancy packages and expelled from Heaven. Ravana wanted to become the worst demon ever and so he opted for 3 mortal lives without taking any help from any Gods.
Ravana opted to become Hiranyakashipu in his first life in which he tortured his very own son, after which Vishnu dispatched him. Next he became the raging King of Demons, ‘Ravana’. He could attain any size he desired with his knife like teeth, twenty arms and ten heads.
The immortal Ravana battled with all gods including Indra’s thunderbolts, the Sun Disc of Vishnu and the four-tusked elephant of Indra. In an effort to tackle Ravana, Vishnu came in the form of Rama and killed Ravana for kidnapping Sita. Ravana had kidnapped Rama’s wife Sita as part of revenge on Rama and Lakshmana his brother for chopping off his sister Shurpanakha’s nose. In the battle that took place in Lanka, the egoistic and over-confident Ravana was defeated and killed by Rama.
Kaikasi and Visravasa were parents of Ravana. He had two sisters Surpanakha and Kumbhini. His six brothers were King Ahiravan, Lord Kubera, Dushana, Vibhishana, King Khara and Kumbhakarna. Ravanas ten heads indicate that he was highly knowledgeable in astrology, scriptures and importantly in architecture.
Ravana was a great scholar, a veena maestro, a capable ruler and a great follower and devotee of Lord Shiva. Overpowering the Devas was his greatest wish.
